Blind Date
by EmpressV
Summary: Pete goes on a blind date and is shocked to find out his blind date is an old friend from his Hometown and the last person he should be dating.


Title: Blind Date   
  
Author: EV ( lady_vader21@yahoo.com )  
  
Website: http://www.silentbard.net/unlikely , http://smalltales.vze.com/, http://www.silentbard.net/samj3/  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Pairing: Lana/Pete  
  
Spoilers: none  
  
Summary: In his freshman year of college, Pete goes on a Blind Date set up by his friend and ends up on a date with his best friends ex.  
  
Disclaimer: Smallvile is not my creation, I'm just having fun with it's characters.  
  
It was a hot day at Metropolis University. Pete wished he was Clark and the heat didn't affect him. And the air in the dorms was broken, so he woke up dripping in sweat and sticking to his sheets.  
  
And now his roommate, Randy, had finally gotten Lara James, a girl he had been wanting to ask out from the day they arrived on Campus, to agree to a date with him. The thing was, Laura never went on a first date with a guy without it being a double date. Since the friend who agreed to double was single, Randy was trying to help the situation along by finding a date for the friend. He decided upon harrasing Pete and Pete wasn't in the mood to argue about it. He thought a simply no would do it, but Randy had waited so long for this date that he was determined to see it through. Pete didn't know if he was the last in a series of nos or the first person Randy asked and he didn't really feel like asking.  
  
"I don't like going into a date blind," Pete said to his friend. "I've heard the horror stories."  
  
"I need someone to take out her friend," Randy said. "It's not like I'm blind on this, I've met the girl. She's hot. Listen, If my heart wasn't taken, I'd be begging for someone to set me up on a date with this girl."  
  
Pete didn't know if he was being truthful or not and he didn't care.  
  
"Listen man, if the girl is that hot the last thing I want her to see is me like this. I've been getting by on a few hours sleep, studying when I'm not sleep or in class, and none of this has been easy when I'm suffering from heat exaushtion. Not to mention those boards in our dorm room that they have the nerve to call beds. Even if we didn't have this killer heat wave, it's almost impossible to get any kind of rest on those things."  
  
"It's a friday night," Randy said. "Studying can be put off for awhile  
  
"I have a 3 hour Chem lab on Saturday."  
  
"Alright, fine, I'll find someone else. Is your friend Clark busy?"  
  
"Yeah, he and Chloe are pretty swamped with thier latest assignment for the paper. You can ask, but I don't think he's free."  
  
As Pete sat down to review his Chemistry notes that night, he wondered if he should have refused. Randy said he met Lara's friend and he could use a date. He hadn't dated since he had started classes 2 months ago. He'd thought College would be an on-going party, that's what he got for listening to his brother Mike. The only way College was a constant party was if you were willing to risk your grade, and Abagail Ross wouldn't allow that. He'd done okay in High School, he'd pay minimal attention in class, grasp the concept and then do a cram session before a big test. The lowest grade he ever got with that method was a B. However, he learned his first two weeks in College, that method wasn't going to work.  
  
Clark joked about him becoming a recluose since the only time they ever crossed paths was in the library. Chloe made a joke about him coverting to a life of celibacy. Lana just looked like she felt sorry for him on those rare occassions she crossed his path.  
  
The fact that they all ended up at the same college still seemed weird to Pete. It was like something that happened in those teen dramas when the kids outgrew the high school years. And to hold onto the cast they all got accepted to the same great nearby college. But most of those teen dramas didn't cover the moments like this, being swamped by classes, barely seeing your friends despite going to the same college, and feeling like you were going to pass out if you stopped for too long.  
  
He took a break from studying to check his e-mail. His mother e-mailed him to tell him about an intership that might be available that summer, he was hoping to rest this summer. His brother Mike e-mailed him about a party going on that weekend (he was out of college, why was he stil following the party scene?). Chloe e-mailed him information on the story she and Clark was working on. And his Chem proffessor e-mailed him. He was relieved to find out his saturday lab and friday class was canceled because his proffessor wasn't feeling well.  
  
Pete closed his chemistry book and fell on his bed, intent on getting some much needed sleep. Just as he was dozing off, Randy came in and flopped down on his bed.  
  
"Pete, I heard your Chem Prof. cancelled class," Randy said.  
  
"Yes, which means I can get some sleep," Pete replied.  
  
"Sleep and tommorow me, you, Lara, and her friend Anna."  
  
"I told you."  
  
"That you had a Saturday lab, which you don't anymore," Randy said.  
  
"Will you let me sleep if I agree?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Fine, I'll go, just don't bother me for the next six hours."  
  
Randy rushed out the room, proably to tell Laura it was a done deal. Pete didn't care, he just rolled over and curled up in his comforter.  
  
Luckily the heat seemed to have broke by Friday night and Pete felt reasonably sure he had made himself presentable. He'd lightly applied some cologne, pressed his best dress pants and silk shirt. He regreted agreeing to a blind date with this Anna girl, but it was done. And he hadn't been out since he'd gotten here, what harm could it do? How bad could this girl be?  
  
"You ready?" Randy said banging on the door.  
  
"Yeah," Pete said. "This Anna girl better be hot."  
  
"Trust me, she is"  
  
He and Randy left thier dorm and headed across to the girls dorms. It suddenly occured to him Lana and Chloe lived in these dorms. Of course, both of them could barely tolerate thier roommates and they were already looking into getting an apartment together. If not this year, next year. Still, if he had been in a better mood he could have inquired about this Anna girl through one of them.  
  
Pete stood with his back toward the doorway with his eyes clothes as Randy knocked. Pete mentally prepared himself for the worse, hoping to be pleasently surprised. Even though he wasn't wishing for a troll (obviously), he wasn't wishing for a dumb bimbo either. He didn't think he could tolerate a beautiful idiot tonight. On a good night he could, but not tonight.  
  
The door opened. Randy greeted his date and Pete was just about to open his eyes for an introduction when he heard an all to familiar voice say "Pete".  
  
"Lana?" Pete questioned as he turned around. If this wasn't his best friend's ex-girlfriend, if it wasn't a girl he'd grown up knowing of even if he didn't know her, he would have been pleasently surprised. She may have always been off limits, but he wasn't blind to that fact Lana was gorgeous. But she was Lana Lang, the ONE girl he wasn't allowed to date and he was okay with that.  
  
"You told me her name was Anna," Pete said to Randy.  
  
"Sorry dude, guess I made a mistake. But you know her, it's a good thing, right?"  
  
Pete grabbed him and pulled him to the side.  
  
"She's my friend, but she's also my best friend's ex."  
  
"Clark?"  
  
"Yeah. And we have an unspoken agreement about this particular girl."  
  
"If it's unspoken, it can be broken."  
  
"You don't understand--"  
  
"Pete," Lana said touching his shoulder and pulling him to the side. "It's not that big a deal. I mean this is for them right."  
  
"Right."  
  
"So we go out as two friends with two friends."  
  
"Right," Pete agreed, now feeling silly for making so much of this.  
  
"I've seen you lately, you could use a night out"  
  
"I guess you're right. And I was hoping for a night of casual sex."  
  
"Shut up," Lana said as she hooked her arm around his and they walked out with Lara and Randy.  
  
The four of them arrived at a restaurant a few hours later. Pete and Lana weren't surprised that they fell into conversation so easily. They had a lot to catch up on and it's not like they were strangers, but by the time they reached the restaurant they realized thier companions weren't interacting as easily. After a pretty good start they were now fumbling for what to say. Pete and Lana pulled them into conversation by discussing classes and various Proffessor. This jump started a four way conversation that lasted them about halfway through dinner.  
  
"How long have you two known each other?" Lara asked Pete and Lana.  
  
"Well, that's kind of a hard question to answer," Lana said.  
  
"Clark, Lana, and I all pretty much grew up together," Pete said.  
  
"But up until high school it was more like we knew of each other than knew   
  
each other."  
  
"Which is weird because for most of her life she was Clark's next-door neighbor girl."  
  
"What's really weird is when we started traveling in the same circle, it was all kind of natural, like we had known each other," Lana said. "When you live in a small town it's like that. Somehow you know everybody, even when you don't know them. Either your parents have worked on some activity together or you have friends in common, things like that."  
  
"I'm Metropolis born and bred, so I wouldn't know anything about that," Lara said.  
  
"I would, I lived in a small town too," Randy added. "That's why I needed to get as far away from it as I could."  
  
"I always thought I did too," Pete said.  
  
"Yeah, I think all small town kids dream of going on to bigger and better places far away from home," Lana said. "But I don't know, now that I'm older, I don't think anyplace else will feel like home the same way."  
  
"My mom was like that," Pete said. "She told me she had all these big dreams of taking the world by storm growing up. But when she and my father thought of raising a family, there was only one place she wanted to be."  
  
"What about you?" Lana asked. "You plan on living your adult life in Smallville or are there bigger and better things waiting for Pete Ross?"  
  
"I don't know, right now I'm just trying to get through this semester without being sent to the loony-bin."  
  
"We all are," Lana replied.  
  
"You, Chloe, and Clark seem to be getting along way better than I am."  
  
"Trust me, we're all just finding out rythms. You'll find yours."  
  
Lana and Pete suddenly realized they had again ventured into thier own conversation. But it was okay, because Lara and Randy had finally seemed to click and entered in a smooth conversation of thier own. Pete was actually glad Lana was his date, there was no pressure to be anything but himself. And it forced him to hang out with a friend, something he hadn't made time for in awhile.  
  
Randy talked Lara into going for a walk alone after dinner. Lana said she knew Lara was now comfortable with him, because she gave her the okay to leave. Pete and Lana decided to walk back to campus, since Randy had drove them all. It was a nice night so neither minded.  
  
"You know, I think this has been one of my best dates in awhile," Lana said as her arm wrapped around his.   
  
She was just playing around, Pete told himself as he let her arm circle his and intertwine his fingers.  
  
"What would Clark and Chloe say if they could see us now?"  
  
"How about 'I never noticed, but they make quite a cute couple'"  
  
"Stop playing with me," Pete said.  
  
"Why do you think I'm playing?" Lana asked giving him a serious look.  
  
"You wouldn't date me," Pete said.  
  
"Why? Because I dated your best friend."  
  
"Well, yeah, and me and you, I just never--" Pete said. But when he looked at her, he kind of wondered why he had always thought it so impossible. Lana was obviously attractive, but she was also a really cool person. She wasn't so wrapped up in her looks that she couldn't hang with the boys. But when she did make the effort, she could take you breath away. The day she walked into the senior prom with clark Kent he had to admit, despite the gorgeous girl on his arm that night, he found it hard to tear his eyes away from Lana. They'd danced once during the night when Clark 'disappeared' for a moment (to save the occassion from a ex-football player trying to murder his ex-girlfriend). He remebered how warm she felt in his arms, how sweet she smelled. And for a second he had felt something, something he'd pushed away when Clark tapped him on the shoulder to get his date back. He wonder how he would have felt about Lana if he hadn't mentally hung a sign on her and labeled it 'forbidden territory'.  
  
"Have you thought about it?" Pete asked.  
  
Lana didn't seem put off by the question. "I guess not. I don't know why, I just haven't thought about it."  
  
"We wouldn't have worked out, no drama, no angst. You know that was a requirement for all our high school relationships. Plus, I was too normal. You only went for the superheros like Clark and Whitney or the Meteor freaks."  
  
"I wouldn't call Clark or Whitney a superhero. As for angst and drama, I don't know, my boyfriend was your best friend. You don't get more classic than the best friend, best girl plot. And I ran a bussiness with Lex Luthor, who you hate. That sounds like a nice conflict for a for all the angst, romance, and drama of a steamy romance novel."  
  
"Well, if it's a cheesy romance novel, it's got to have hot sex in it right?" Pete asked.  
  
"Why, are you still planning on that casual sex?" Lana asked with a grin.  
  
"Is it still on the table?" Pete replied humoring her.  
  
They both attempted to meet each other with a serious gaze, but broke down within a few moments and began laughing at themselves.   
  
"Lana, Pete," a voice called from across the campus. They both turned and saw Chloe running toward them. Pete quickly detangled his arm from Lana's.  
  
"Have you two seen Clark?" she asked.  
  
"No," Lana said.  
  
"What are you doing with Pete anyway, I thought you had a date?" Chloe questioned.  
  
"Pete is my date," Lana replied.  
  
"Pete's your date?" Chloe asked a little perplexed. "I didn't know you two were dating."  
  
"It was a blind date," Pete quickly noted. "We didn't know our date was each other until--"  
  
"Oh," Chloe said with a laugh. "I thought you two were secretly dating or something."  
  
"Yeah, that would be funny," Lana said throwing a small grin Pete's way,   
  
which he returned.  
  
"Anyway," Chloe said, obviously putting no more thougth into the subject. "Clark was suppose to meet me in the library to do some research. He never showed up."  
  
"You know Clark," Pete replied. "He's easily distracted."  
  
"Well, I got most of the information we needed. If you see him, tell him to contact me."  
  
"Okay," Lana and Pete said together.  
  
"Oh, and enjoy the rest of your date, I won't tell Clark," Chloe said teasingly.  
  
"Bye Chloe," Pete said and she departed.  
  
"So where to, my room or yours?" Lana asked.  
  
"Stop playing with me girl."  
  
"You need to play around, all of us are sick of you being so down."  
  
"Didn't think any of you paid much attention to me. I'm good ol' Pete, always there in a good mood. And if I'm not there, who cares."  
  
"We care. I mean, maybe I haven't been as close to you as Chloe. Or your friend as long as Clark. But there were a few times, even before we knew each other very well, that you would see me down and you would just come over and say hello and say something that would make me smile. It was always nice and I thought I should return the favor a little."  
  
"With casual sex?" Pet questioned raising an eyebrow.  
  
They both laughed again.  
  
"You know what you need, a study scedual."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"A study schedual?"   
  
"I study all the time."  
  
"But you study all over the place. If you make a scedual you'll know what time you have free to be free."  
  
"I never needed one of those in high school."  
  
"Well, high school is over. You need to get organized if you want to pass all your classes and have a life."  
  
****  
  
Pete fumbled to open his door, feeling suddenly like a fool. He knew this wasn't a romantic rendevous, but he and Lana, in a bedroom? Okay it was a dormroom where he sometimes had friends and just watched tv and occassionally studied, but it was still a small room with a bed. And bringing a 'date' thier in the evening had certain implications.  
  
Lana didn't seem worried at all. She came into the room as if she belonged there. She sat on his bed and picked up his leather bound planner.   
  
"Gift from my mom," Pete said.  
  
"You're not using it," Lana said openning it and examining the blank pages.   
  
"I have no use for it."  
  
"You have a copy of your schedual?" Lana asked.   
  
"Yeah, sure mom," Pete said reaching into his bookbag.   
  
Pete pulled out his scedual and handed it to her. She looked it over. She asked him when was his prefered time to study, mornings or evenings and then began plotting out study times. After about an hour, she handed the book to him. He was half asleep by then, wondering how he could have fallen asleep laying on a bed beside Lana.   
  
"I'll look it over in the morning," he said yawning.   
  
Lana laid down beside him. Having body contact with Lana shocked him into a more alert state then he had been a few seconds befroe.   
  
"Umm, you have somewhere to be?" Pete asked.   
  
"Not really," Lana said.   
  
"Want to watch TV?" Pete asked.   
  
"Sure"  
  
He clicked on the TV and saw a familiar space movie on.   
  
"Star Wars, the original trilogy," Pete said.   
  
"Never seen it," Lana said.   
  
"Really, you've never seen Star Wars?"  
  
"Nope, lets watch it," Lana said curling up beside him.   
  
Pete was starting to discover he didn't mind contact with Lana. She was begining to feel very warmly familiar beside him. And he embraced that comfort and let go of his fear. After all, it was no more than a comfort level between old friends.   
  
He was spooning Lana Lang, was he insane?  
  
That was the first thought in Pete's mind that morning. He thought about moving, but at the same time he didn't want to. It felt too damn good to be holding her like this. No, more than good, Perfect. Like she was meant to be in his arms just like this. Damn, the same spell that feel over Clark about the same time puberty did was now infecting him. He'd seen the conseqences of desiring Lana Lang and he was certainly desiring her. In fact, he had to wake her up before this got embaracing.   
  
He moved his body away from her a bit and nudged her awake. She stirred a little, but was lost somewhere between sleep and awake. And while she was still in this inbetween state, she moved back against him and tried to snuggle close again, possibly the worse move she could have made. She made contact with the wrong body part and her eyes came open at the contact. There was no avoiding being embarased now, she sat up and moved away from him. She sat on the edge of the bed, proably trying to grasp how they got into this position.   
  
"I'm sorry," Pete said quickly.   
  
"It's okay... I mean I know it's... I got to go," then Lana ran out his room.   
  
Perhaps twenty minutes later, Randy came in with a big grin on his face.   
  
"Dude, you rock. I guess your unspoken agreement with Clark is officially broken. Don't worry man, I won't rat you out."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I saw her leave your room this morning"  
  
"We fell asleep," Pete said. "That's it."  
  
"Sure Pete. Well, let me tell you a secret. We set you up."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Lara was kind of noticing that Lana was always looking over at you."  
  
"Yeah, out of pity for my academic mess," Pete said.   
  
"Well, she didn't think that's what it was. And I could only get a date if I helped her set you two up."  
  
"Well, I hope you're happy now. She proably hates me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Forget it," Pete said. "I need a cold shower," Pete said to himself.   
  
"I bet," Randy said leaving the room.  
  
Pete couldn't get Lana Lang out of his mind. If it wasn't one thought it was another. If he relaxed to long he thought about how she smelled or how it felt to hold her. Then he'd hate himself for those thoughts and wonder if Clark would hate him having them. Then he wondered if Lana would ever speak to him again. And the thought she might not bothered, bothered him more than it would have twenty-four hours ago.   
  
About noon, Clark called him and asked if he wanted to catch a movie with him and a couple friends. Since he thought hanging out with Clark would bring some sense back into his head, he jumped on the invite.   
  
It only occured to him, once he arrived at the theater, that he hadn't asked what other friends would be there. It was only when he spotted Chloe and Lana waiting with Clark outside the theater that he knew that they were the 'friends' Clark was talking about. Clark walked away from the girls and met him a few feet away from the theater.   
  
"It's just us four?" Pete asked.   
  
"Yeah, just me, you, Chloe and Lana," Clark said. "Chloe told me about you and Lana hanging out last night."  
  
Pete's heart skipped a beat.   
  
"And I thought, why don't we all do something. Chloe suggested a movie."  
  
"I don't know Clark, I'm not feeling well."  
  
"You came all the way out here and now suddenly you don't feel well. What's really wrong."  
  
"Nothing, I just."  
  
Chloe came over. Lana walked a pace behind her and seemed unwilling to meet his eyes. They were usually very relaxed around each other and now they were not.   
  
"What's taking you two so long?" Chloe asked.   
  
"Pete's changed his mind," Clark said.   
  
"You are not going to flunk out from one night at the movies," Chloe said grabbing Pete's arm.   
  
The four of them bought there tickets and entered the theater. Pete thought he would be okay as long as he managed to get Clark and Chloe between the two of them. His mission seemed semi-accomplished when they claimed four seats near the end of the row. Clark had went in first, Lana behind him, and Chloe behind her. Pete took the seat at the edge. But then Chloe ruined his set-up, she said she didn't like that seat and asked Lana to switch. Lana gave no reply, but switched seats, still refusing to meet his eyes. Pete's hands fell into his lap, so as to avoid contact with Lana's. He glued his eyes to the movie screen and refused to move them towards anything else. He was slightly aware of light chatter from Clark and Chloe a few seats away during the trailers and that was gone once the feature started. Halfway through the movie, he simply forgot and let his elbow rest on the arm rest. And then it made contact, with hers. He shot up out of his seat. Whispered he had to go to the bathroom when Clark and Chloe looked his way and rushed off to the bathroom.   
  
He went in the bathroom and splashed his face with water.   
  
"It's just Lana Lang man," he said to his reflection. "You've been around Lana Lang forever and never acted like this. What am I going to do."  
  
Pete turned and left the bathroom. Took a deep breath and headed back to see the movie.   
  
"Pete, we need to talk" a familiar voice said as he passed the concession area.   
  
"Lana?" Pete said turning.   
  
Lana walked up to him. "I left Chloe and Clark a few seconds after you did."   
  
"Why?"  
  
"I know this has been really weird for you. And I should never have slept in your bed, I put you in a really akward position."  
  
"Believe me, there's no need for you to appologize. I'm the one who should be appologizing."  
  
"You didn't do anything wrong," Lana said. "I mean nothing you had any control over."   
  
"Great, make me feel like a thirteen year old embarassed in front of a hot teacher."  
  
Lana laughed.   
  
"Hey, did you know Randy and Lara intended to set us up. He didn't forget your name. Apparently Lara thought we should be a couple and since he wanted to go out with her and he knew me, they tricked us into that date."  
  
"I don't know how many times I've told Lara it's not like that between us. Or at least it wasn't a few days ago."  
  
"What's that mean?"  
  
"I've been thinking about something Yoda said."  
  
"Yoda?" Pete asked shocked.  
  
"Hey, they played all of them, I had to see it through to the end. Now will you listen."  
  
"Okay, I'm listening."  
  
"You made me forget, oh yeah 'Always in motion the future is'. It's so true, because in a moment everything you think you know can change or some other road in your path, a path you thought you'd never take suddenly seems like the right way to go. I would never have planned this, but I ended up feeling something for you that night that I didn't expect to feel."  
  
"You're not saying--"  
  
"I know it's weird, we're friends and that whole history I have with Clark, and he's your LIFE LONG best friend in the world and I'd understand if you don't want to persue this, but--"  
  
She didn't have to say any more, because Pete pulled her close. And they kissed for the first time. He didn't know what he was thinking, kissing her in a public place before he even explained things to Clark. But he didn't care at the moment, at the moment all he cared about were the soft delicate lips carressing his. He'd never thought he'd feel like this about Lana Lang, but it was never too big a shock to find out anyone fell under her spell. The big shocker was she felt it for him too.   
  
THE END  
  
01.07.2004 


End file.
